Tracing the history of the highlands from the end of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th, we learn about the trials and tribulations of the Stewart monarchs and their supporters and the fight to have them reinstated on the throne. It is a period of Scotland’s history famous for its colourful characters and brutal wars. The final defeat of the Jacobites, at the hands of government forces at Culloden in 1746, spelled the beginning of the end of the highland way of life.

Michie begins this part of his journey at Braemar Castle, near the site of the raising of the standard in support of James Stuart, the ‘Old Pretender’, which started the second Jacobite uprising, known as the ‘15. Local historian Dr Sheila Sedgwick tells Michie of the Earl of Mar’s incompetence as a leader of the clans and how he failed to win a victory at the Battle of Sherrifmuir.

Next Michie travels across to the west coast of the highlands, to the spectacular Eilean Donan Castle on the banks of Loch Duich. Here he meets Bill Ramsay and learns about the little known Spanish Invasion of Scotland in 1719. Michie and Ramsay visit the site of the last great battle of the 1715 uprising, the battle of Glen Shiel, where the remaining vestiges of Jacobitism battled government troops. After the failure of this uprising, the southern government came down hard on the people of the highlands, banning their right to carry weapons. They brought in General George Wade, who mapped the highlands and built roads and bridges connecting the forts across the landscape.

Michie moves on to Highbridge to walk with local historian Rory MacDonald on one of these very roads, that remains after nearly three hundred years. Michie arrives at Glenfinnan, where one of Scotland’s most famous characters landed to begin his campaign to regain the throne for the Stewart dynasty. Bonnie Prince Charlie was the son of the ‘Old Pretender’ and was known as the ‘Young Pretender’. He was renowned to be so charming and engaging a young man that he raised the support of much of the highlands, in what was to become the third and final Jacobite uprising, known as the ’45.

After visiting the impressive monument at Glenfinnan, Michie travels north to the site of the last battle to ever be fought on British soil. At Culloden Battlefield, just outside Inverness, Michie meets with highland storyteller, Ray Owens, and hears a vivid and emotional description of the tragic events that took place there in 1746. Over a thousand highland warriors were slaughtered at the hands of the government’s forces, led by Charlie’s cousin the Butcher Cumberland.

However, the real brutality was in the aftermath when all survivors were systematically and violently dispatched. We dismiss some of the misconceptions about this famous battle and visit a bare moor in the wilds of the north. It is a very emotive site, and Michie’s reaction is one that might be common to us all.